Want to remember why you so love Bach? Just listen to this.
BACH: Cantatas 131, 147, 35; Prelude in c, BWV 546/I; CPE BACH: Magnificat, Wq 215 – The Bach Choir and Orch. Houston/ Rick Erickson/ Sigurd Melvaer Øgaard, organ cont./ Jennifer Lane, mezzo (in Solo Cantata 35) – HDTT 5.0 24/192 (2015) & 2.0 24/192 DTS-HD MA audio-only Blu-ray, 129:47 *****:
First of all there is a lot of confusion on this disc and the information provided on the HDTT website that they should clear up. The cover to this disc says it is a 24/96k resolution disc in 5.0 surround sound and stereo. The disc itself is imprinted with the same information, as is the website. However, the notes inside the disc say it is a 24/192k resolution in 4.0 surround and stereo. Based on previous releases I am assuming this is indeed a 192k disc, and I can affirm that there is stereo, and that the surround sound is indeed five-channel. The web notes also indicate that this category is “Baroque – modern instruments”, though this ensemble in the disc notes makes a big deal in saying “the most significant development has been the shift to the use of period instruments”, and it certainly sounds like that here.
Quality assurance carping aside, this is a rollicking ride, recorded at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston. It’s not that it equals the best in any of these works—the Brits are far ahead of anything the Americans have recorded in the Bach Cantatas, to say nothing of Suzuki and Koopman. But the palpable enthusiasm, the wide and spacious, and intimately clear surround sound, exceptional instrumental work, and vibrant singing make this one of the most enjoyable cantata discs I have heard. To top it all off, the superb Magnificat by CPE Bach—and if you don’t know it, there is a huge hole in your Baroque listening experience—is given a simply superb performance of boundless energy and committed, lovingly-shaped individual movements.
The Bach Society Houston has been around since 1982, and is noted for its mostly free concerts and devoted following. Hearing them here I can certainly understand why, and if this disc doesn’t inspire more to come there is little justice in the world. If you are looking for some really fresh takes on Bach with all the excitement you used to hear in this music, look no further!
—Steven Ritter
